Coliseum plaque is moved to storage

City official says item wasn't bolted securely to wall

A light above the spot indicates where the bronze plaque memorializing 400 servicemen and women who died in World War II was attached to the wall of Memorial Coliseum. The plaque has been removed and placed in storage.

CORPUS CHRISTI - The plaque that puts the memorial in Memorial Coliseum is in storage awaiting its return to either a restored, refurbished coliseum or another suitable location, city officials said Monday.

The bronze plaque commemorating Nueces County's World War II veterans adorned the front of the building since its 1954 opening.

It was taken down several weeks ago, said Kevin Stowers, the city's interim engineering services director.

Maintenance crews securing the building before Hurricane Ike, and after another report of vagrants getting inside, noticed the plaque wasn't firmly bolted into the brick wall.

"The thought was, given the importance of this particular plaque, it needed to be removed until it can be properly secured on a restored Memorial Coliseum or at another suitable location," Stowers said.

The large plaque is locked up and out of the elements at a city storage site, said spokeswoman Kim Womack.

The city-owned coliseum has been the subject of heated community debate since it closed when the American Bank Center opened in late 2004. The building is considered architecturally significant but many in the community consider it unattractive. A committee of council members and residents is set to bring proposals for reuse options of the site to the City Council by the end of the year.

Nearly 700 people have signed a petition to put before the City Council an ordinance that would require the council to consider razing the structure.

Earlier this month the council tabled indefinitely any action on the proposed ordinance. If the council does not vote on it by mid-October, the petitioners would have the option of a second petition seeking a citywide vote.

Rafael Alvarado Jr., a Vietnam veteran and member of the mayor's veterans committee, said the coliseum has never been an appropriate site for the memorial plaque, but neither is storage.

"I would like to have it placed somewhere else," he said.

The plaque went unnoticed at the coliseum by people attending concerts, graduations and other fun activities, he said.

He suggests it be installed at Sherrill Park where veterans' memorial services regularly are held.

Another Vietnam veteran, Tom Criser, said the building's condition of disrepair makes it unsuitable for a memorial plaque.

"I'd rather have (the plaque) down and then put it up somewhere where it's really going to highlight the fact that it's going to be a memorial," he said

He suggests instead an outdoor memorial be built with names of all the local soldiers who gave their lives in war.

Councilmen Mike Hummell and John Marez, who also serve on the committee faced with the task of finding a solution to the building, didn't know Monday the plaque had been removed.

Both said it seemed an appropriate action if the plaque was in jeopardy of falling or being stolen.

Marez said it was unclear if its removal changes the keep-or-demolish debate. Hummell said it didn't.

"Absolutely not," he said. "It's the structure that's the memorial."

He suspects any reuse of the building would require the plaque be moved anyway.

"It doesn't have to be displayed right now," he said.

Marez said the memorial aspect is oft cited as the reason for keeping the building.

"Taking that part of the coliseum off, it may make it easier to say get rid of it," he said. "Others still have memories tied to it."

Joe McComb, a former city councilman who organized the petition ordinance, said with or without the plaque people are interested in tearing it down. He still plans to seek the needed 8,000 or so signatures to put that choice before the voters.

"I don't think it would have any bearing one way or the other on getting signatures unless people think it's an indication that the city thinks it's going down."

No veterans groups or other people have complained to Stowers about the plaque's disappearance.

Removing it now and storing it ensures the plaque will stay safe until it can be reinstalled, he said.

"It's a real vital part of our history. (The veterans) do need to be honored and respected and displayed in a proper manner," Stowers said.